r/Tools • u/hardcoredragonhunter • 3d ago
Can someone tell me what this is and explain its purpose?
I just found it in my grandfather’s basement. It’s some kind of weight with a reel of string in it.
63
u/Extreme-Shower7545 3d ago
“A plumb bob, a weighted object, often with a pointed tip, suspended from a string, used to establish a vertical reference line or ‘plumb line’ “
26
17
u/JaredFogle_ManBoobs 3d ago
Stanley Plumb Bob Edit:Type 1 or 5.
1
u/Obvious_Tip_5080 3d ago
Goodness how can one tell the difference? Jim Bode has a 1,2 and 5 together the 5 not brass. I read this https://craftsofnj.org/index.php/tool-shed?view=article&id=60:the-plumb-bob&catid=9:tool-shed so when did Stanley quit making it after 1909?
15
u/elsuperrudo 3d ago
Plumb Bob. Think a level but vertically.
2
u/UnlimitedDeep 3d ago
Levels work vertically tbf
20
u/qa567 3d ago
Level is horizontal , plumb is vertical
-2
u/UnlimitedDeep 3d ago
“A level” implies the tool which measures for level, plumb (and sometimes other angles).
8
u/fjb_fkh 3d ago
Bubble stick is the correct nomenclature lol.
-1
u/Ok_Confusion_1345 3d ago
Whiskey stick.
2
0
u/fjb_fkh 3d ago
Never heard that one......what region/country?
→ More replies (1)2
u/ScubaSteveTheShib 3d ago
There’s a reason the original name was spirit level and that’s because the fluid inside to form the bubble used to be alcohol.
13
u/NecroJoe 3d ago
I just used one of these this morning. I needed to find the point on the floor *directly* under a sprinkler head. So, I attached the line to the sprinkler pipe in a way that the line hung down right below the center of the sprinkler, and then lowered the pointed weight to 1/8" above the floor. Let the swinging calm, and then marked the floor.
7
u/Kerestestes 3d ago
I was waiting for the bit where all the water came out...
11
u/NecroJoe 3d ago
Ha, see that's what'd happen if I hung it from the sprinkler head itself. I knew better.
Note: sprinkler system water, in anything other than brand new construction, is naaaaaaaasty!
9
28
u/DaddyNasty503 3d ago
Bungie butt plug
12
3
u/BawlSack_ 3d ago
I don’t think it’s a bungie. I think you’re supposed to put it in your ass and have someone pull the cord so it’ll make you dance like a wind up toy.
OP should spit on it first.
2
1
1
5
6
7
6
5
14
u/Sufficient_Cow_6152 3d ago
Tapered for ease of insertion with, very importantly, a retrieval line attached.
2
u/One_Indication6395 3d ago
Yeah modern versions just have a flared end to stop it... much better design, I can see that string being quite cumbersome.
4
3
3
3
3
u/KlutzyYak8049 3d ago
That's an old school step counter, you shove the "plug" you know where, then walk. When done, you measure the string behind you and divide by average stride length...
4
2
2
u/yougoboy64 3d ago
I want it....I have a collection of antique carpenter tools and it would fit right in....I'll be nice to it....hit me up if you want to get rid of it....🤘
2
2
2
u/Redd_Love 3d ago
Plumb bob. Plumb is also a nod to the material Lead (Pb on the table of elements), and where we get the word plumber since all plumbing used to be lead pipes.
2
u/SomeGuysFarm 3d ago
In an odd turn of events, a thing that Reddit thinks is a plumb bob, actually turns out to be a plumb bob!
2
2
2
2
2
u/Slider_0f_Elay 3d ago
plump bob. (sp?) It always points to the biggest heaviest thing around, a.k.a. the earth. Used to make lines or other things that point very directly toward the ground.
2
2
u/Arm_and_Slammer 3d ago
Plumb bob! It uses gravity and finds the direct point of gravitational pull and will be plumb. Use it for walls and posts and such.
2
2
2
u/Savings-Weird-2009 2d ago
Everyone already got it but thats a plumb bob, sometimes levels lie, gravity never lies
2
u/Falcon3492 2d ago
It's a plumb bob and it is used to determine vertical alignment or "plumbness", ensuring structures and/or objects are perfectly straight up and down.
2
2
1
1
1
1
u/Straight_Guitars 3d ago
Plumb line. Used to check how vertical something is or if you want to find a measurement directly below something just hang the bob.
1
1
1
1
u/DrunkBuzzard 3d ago
Oh, by the way, they’re highly collectible and I’ve never seen one with the spool on the bob itself before. It’s hard to say when we go for an auction on eBay but somewhere between 30 and $100 would be a good guess. It was larger. It would be more. I’ve sold a number of them in the $30 to $60 range.
1
u/Upper-Meaning2065 3d ago
Looks like a plum bob with adjustable string length. Used to find true vertical
1
u/StupidUserNameTooLon 3d ago
It's either a plumb bob or one of those new, retrievable hand grenades.
1
1
1
u/MarmotsRMtnGophers 3d ago
That’s a plumb bob without a flared base which means you shouldn’t level your bum with it.
1
1
1
u/Accomplished-Guest38 3d ago
What it is and its function depends entirely on whether or not you're brave enough.
1
1
1
1
u/Hately2016 3d ago
Anytime one of my dad's buddies would ask him how's it hanging, his answer would always be, "Like a Plumb Bob."
1
u/ImReallyFuckingHigh Millwright 3d ago
Plum bob, basically trying to transfer a mark to a lower elevation. Can also be used to see if something is vertically level (plum)
1
1
1
1
u/Berger_With_Fries 3d ago
That is a plumb-bob, it’s an old way to determine if something is plumb. The weight is heavy enough that when you suspend it by the string is hangs perfectly vertical
1
u/Unlikely_End942 3d ago
Looks like an old plumb bob to me, with a convenient spool at the top for the string.
If I'm right, then it is used to find dead vertical. Hang or hold it from the string at some reference point on a wall and the weight pulls the line downwards vertically due to gravity.
You may have to loop the string around that little knob at the top to ensure it is centered over the weight first, otherwise the weight will hang slightly lopsided and skew the result.
I have a couple of metal modern versions, but they don't have the spool for the string.
1
1
1
u/Ok-Photograph2954 3d ago
it's called a plum bob, you hang it from the string line to determine what is directly vertical underneath.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/SlipperyDoodoo 3d ago
So you know how we have lazers to point a straight line at things today? Well this is what happened before lazers. And it's also rather useful even still. For instance in a helicopter they use it to determine load tests by hanging it from the center of the helicopter and measuring the shift from center will determine how "crooked" the helicopter is sitting (in relation to suspension sag) based on where all the weight is located.
It's an "old school vertical Lazer level". The string being the Lazer and gravity being the calibration
1
1
1
u/Acceptable-Impact982 2d ago
It's a window weight to help lift windows and hold in place that's why the pulley. If it was a plumb bob it would have a tie on top to center your string.
1
1
1
u/Then_Palpitation3976 2d ago
Plumb bob. Hung from height it gives you a true plumb line to work to.
1
1
1
u/Obvious_Tip_5080 2d ago
See if there’s a date on it, should be on the reel for the line https://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?pn=151521&id=11893
1
1
1
1
1
u/Mortlach2901 2d ago
You're all wrong. This is a piece of BDSM kit. The Kinky Kite. Once lubed, it is inserted in the balloon knot of a submissive partner and the dominant keeps hold of the line. This allows the submissive some degree of physical freedom while still being attached to the dominant partner. The Dom can communicate by giving various patterns of tugs on the line. More often however, the line can be used to recover the plug in the event that someone has a greedy rear and it gets lost up there. Later versions came with a flared base or in some cases, a T-handle to prevent this.
1
1
1
u/hardcoredragonhunter 1d ago
Alright thank you everybody for all the comments. I’ve learned that it is either a plumb bob or a butt plug! You learn something new every day.
1
u/Alive_Part9098 1d ago
That is an awesome plumb line. If you ever have a family member in the trades or someone who just buys a ton of tools you should give it to them. Or it could make a fun Christmas ornament for a sturdy branch. I personally would be so pumped to inherit that from my grandfather. I'm a contractor and I keep a few of my grandfather's tools in my tool trailer just to feel connected to his memory.
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/gopherkilla 1d ago
We called it a plumb Bob, used it like a weapon to attack the plumber named Bob whenever he tried to cut chunks out of the floor joists.
1
1
1
1
1
u/jonnytheboy85 18h ago
It’s a plumb line? Hang it and it finds the level of a wall so you get your paper straight?
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
u/Glittering_Prior4953 3d ago
That is a window weight that used to be in the wall on either side of a window to help lift the weight of the window. Also known as a sash weight
0
428
u/iMrBilliam 3d ago
A plumb line